Elon Musk's X recently reduced its global workforce by over 1,000 employees from teams tasked with curbing abusive online content. 

Newly released figures from Australia's online watchdog revealed Australia's eSafety Commission noted these significant workforce reductions, coupled with the reinstatement of numerous previously banned accounts, has led to a concerning surge in the dissemination of harmful content. 

In recent months, the regulatory body specifically focused on X, formerly known as Twitter, highlighted that Musk's takeover coincided with an increase in "toxicity and hate" on the platform.

Leveraging the innovative Online Safety Act in Australia, the eSafety Commission successfully acquired a comprehensive breakdown of X's workforce, including software engineers, content moderators, and other safety personnel. 

Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, who previously worked at Twitter, highlighted that this marks the first instance of these specific figures being disclosed to the public. The obtained data reveals that since Elon Musk's acquisition of X in October 2022, a total of 1,213 specialised "trust and safety staff," encompassing both employees and contractors, have departed, reported AFP. 

Inman Grant emphasised that this departure includes a notable 80 per cent of software engineers dedicated to addressing "trust and safety issues."

Describing the impact of losing 80 per cent of these specialised engineers, Commissioner Julie Inman Grant drew a comparison, stating, "To take 80 per cent of these specialist engineers away, it would be like Volvo — known for its safety standards — eradicating all of their designers or engineers." 

She highlighted the gravity of the situation, emphasising that it creates a perfect storm by significantly diminishing the platform's defences and reintroducing repeat offenders. 

Australia has been at the forefront of the global effort to regulate social media, compelling tech companies to disclose their strategies for addressing issues such as hate speech and child sexual abuse. However, despite these regulatory efforts, there have been instances where attempts to enforce these powers have been met with indifference.

In October of the previous year, the eSafety Commission imposed a fine of Aus$610,500 (US$388,000) on X, citing its failure to demonstrate effective measures against child pornography, revealed AFP. 

However, X disregarded the deadline for payment and initiated continuous legal proceedings to challenge and overturn the fine. Despite AFP's request for comment, X did not respond, providing only an automated response stating, "busy now, please check back later." It's important to note that the Barron's news department played no role in creating the content above.